What is the purpose of this site?

By the time we join a professional orchestra or begin a freelance career we have spent many years focused primarily on developing our individual skills toward winning auditions, not learning how to design programs for different audiences such as special needs, vets, immigrants, low income families or hospitalized children. As our community places a higher priority on creating programs for these constituents ; as we adapt to our changing demographics, we collectively and individually need to develop the skills and understanding to create meaningful music projects and become more effective advocates for what we do. If we address issues which our community values in intelligent and meaningful ways and then let our community know what we are doing, we gain support and enhance our value. We CAN show creativity and innovate while playing new works and addressing community concerns. What examples do we have of this already ?

We CAN listen and be responsive to community needs while doing what we do best. The effectiveness of the programs (the power of our music to enhance and enrich our community’s quality of life) drives support. Our smaller group projects make clear our commitment to our communities and their concerns.
But HOW do we adapt our programming ? Where can we get innovative ideas, the skills and knowledge we need? Who can partner with us to get our programs up and running faster and more effectively?

MUSACOR can aid in our search for resources and potential collaborations as we reimagine our relationship to our communities moving forward.

Here are some of the questions we will address on this site:

I want to expand a music project I started for some young students from a high -poverty area in my city. I started by working with a number of violinists but now enrollment is growing as the word gets out. What next steps would you suggest?

I have developed a small group music program addressing bullying and other social justice issues. The response has been very positive and enthusiastic. And I have some media coverage of my program. What do I do next? Where does this fit in the context of an orchestra?

I want to work with a group of refugees in my city but I don’t know anybody in that community and don’t know their language. How do I get started? Do you have any suggestions for what music and other materials I could use?

I want to play for special needs children. How do I learn what to play and ways I can interact with my audience? I’m afraid of their unexpected sounds and movements and don’t know what to do.

My quartet wants to play in a local Children’s hospital. I’m unnerved by how stressed out the parents are, and some of the kids are obviously very sick. I don’t want to make anything worse. How do we determine what music or interaction would help the children and their parents?